brush up
noun
1.
an implement consisting of bristles, hair, or the like, set in or attached to a handle, used for painting, cleaning, polishing, grooming, etc.
2.
one of a pair of devices consisting of long, thin handles with wire bristles attached, used in jazz or dance bands for keeping a soft, rhythmic beat on the trap drums or the cymbals.
3.
the bushy tail of an animal, especially of a fox.
4.
Electricity.
a.
a conductor, often made of carbon or copper or a combination of the two, serving to maintain electric contact between stationary and moving parts of a machine, generator, or other apparatus.
5.
a feathery or hairy tuft or tassel, as on the tip of a kernel of grain or on a man's hat.
verb (used with object)
10.
to sweep, paint, clean, polish, etc., with a brush.
11.
to touch lightly in passing; pass lightly over: His lips brushed her ear.
12.
to remove by brushing or by lightly passing over: His hand brushed a speck of lint from his coat.
00:10
Brush up
is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
verb (used without object)
Verb phrases 13.
to move or skim with a slight contact.
14.
brush aside, to disregard; ignore: Our complaints were simply brushed aside.
15.
brush off, to rebuff; send away: She had never been brushed off so rudely before.
16.
Idioms brush up on, to revive, review, or resume (studies, a skill, etc.): She's thinking of brushing up on her tennis. Also, brush up.
17.
get the brush, to be rejected or rebuffed: She greeted Jim effusively, but I got the brush.
18.
give the brush, to ignore, rebuff, etc.: If you're still angry with him, give him the brush.
Origin:
1350–1400; (noun) Middle English brusshe, probably to be identified with brush2, if orig. sense was implement made from twigs, etc., culled from brushwood; (v.) Middle English brushen to hasten, rush, probably < Old French brosser to travel (through brush), verbal derivative of broce (see brush2)
1350–1400; (noun) Middle English brusshe, probably to be identified with brush2, if orig. sense was implement made from twigs, etc., culled from brushwood; (v.) Middle English brushen to hasten, rush, probably < Old French brosser to travel (through brush), verbal derivative of broce (see brush2)
Related forms
brush·a·ble, adjective
brush·er, noun
brush·like, adjective
un·brush·a·ble, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To brush up
Collins
World English Dictionary
brush1 (brʌʃ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a device made of bristles, hairs, wires, etc, set into a firm back or handle: used to apply paint, clean or polish surfaces, groom the hair, etc |
| 2. | the act or an instance of brushing |
| 3. | a light stroke made in passing; graze |
| 4. | a brief encounter or contact, esp an unfriendly one; skirmish |
| 5. | the bushy tail of a fox, often kept as a trophy after a hunt, or of certain breeds of dog |
| 6. | an electric conductor, esp one made of carbon, that conveys current between stationary and rotating parts of a generator, motor, etc |
| 7. | a dark brush-shaped region observed when a biaxial crystal is viewed through a microscope, caused by interference between beams of polarized light |
| —vb | |
| 8. | (tr) to clean, polish, scrub, paint, etc, with a brush |
| 9. | (tr) to apply or remove with a brush or brushing movement: brush the crumbs off the table |
| 10. | (tr) to touch lightly and briefly |
| 11. | (intr) to move so as to graze or touch something lightly |
| [C14: from Old French broisse, perhaps from broce | |
| 'brusher1 | |
| —n | |
| 'brushlike1 | |
| —adj | |
| brush2 (brʌʃ) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a thick growth of shrubs and small trees; scrub |
| 2. | land covered with scrub |
| 3. | broken or cut branches or twigs; brushwood |
| 4. | wooded sparsely populated country; backwoods |
| [C16 (dense undergrowth), C14 (cuttings of trees): from Old French broce, from Vulgar Latin bruscia (unattested) brushwood] | |
| brush up | |
| —vb (often foll by on) | |
| 1. | to refresh one's knowledge, skill, or memory of (a subject) |
| 2. | to make (a person or oneself) tidy, clean, or neat as after a journey |
| —n | |
| 3. | (Brit) the act or an instance of tidying one's appearance (esp in the phrase wash and brush-up) |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
brush
"dust-sweeper," late 14c., from O.Fr. broisse (Mod.Fr. brosse) "a brush" (13c.), perhaps from V.L. *bruscia "a bunch of new shoots" (used to sweep away dust), perhaps from P.Gmc. *bruskaz "underbrush." As a verb, attested from mid-15c. Brush off "rebuff, dismiss" is from 1941.
brush
"shrubbery," early 14c., from Anglo-Fr. bruce "brushwood," O.N.Fr. broche, O.Fr. broce "bush, thicket, undergrowth" (12c., Mod.Fr. brosse), from Gallo-Romance *brocia, perhaps from *brucus "heather," or possibly from the same source as brush (1). The verb meaning "to move
briskly" especially past or against something or someone (1670s) probably belongs here, on the notion of a horse, etc., passing through dense undergrowth, but brush (1) probably has contributed something to it as well.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
brush definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
brush up
-
Clean, refurbish, as in We plan to get the house brushed up in time for the party. [c. 1600]
-
Also, brush up on. Review, refresh one's memory, as in Nell brushed up on her Spanish before going to Honduras, or I'm brushing up my knowledge of town history before I speak at the club. [Late 1700s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Nearby Words
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
